Earth's internal heat budget

Global map of the flux of heat, in mW/m2, from Earth's interior to the surface.[1] The largest values of heat flux coincide with mid-ocean ridges, and the smallest values of heat flux occur in stable continental interiors.

Earth's internal heat budget is about heat that comes from the Earth itself, not heat from the Sun.

The flow of heat from Earth's interior to the surface is estimated at 47±2 terawatts (TW).[1] It comes from two main sources in roughly equal amounts. There is the radiogenic heat produced by the radioactive decay of isotopes in the mantle and crust. Secondly, there is the primordial heat left over from the formation of Earth.[2]

As many people know, the deeper down you go, the hotter the Earth gets. Mine shafts are a good example of this.

Radiogenic heat

The evolution of Earth's radiogenic heat flow over time

This is still being produced. but its amount reduces very slowly as time passes. Remember, these radioactive elements are produced in supernovae, and are quite different from the Sun, which is mostly hydrogen. The planets are completely different from the Sun, historically and in their make-up.

Primordial heat

Primordial heat is the heat lost by the Earth as it continues to cool from its original formation, in contrast to its still actively-produced radiogenic heat.

The Earth core's heat flow—heat leaving the core and flowing into the overlying mantle is thought to be due to primordial heat. It is estimated as 5–15 TW.[3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Davies J.H. & D.R. 2010. Earth's surface heat flux. Solid Earth, 1(1), 5–24p.
  2. ↑ Donald L. Turcotte & Gerald Schubert 2002. Geodynamics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66624-4
  3. ↑ Lay T; Hernlund J., & Buffett, B.A. 2008. Core–mantle boundary heat flow. Nature Geoscience, 1(1), 25–32.
  • Dalrymple G. Brent 2004. Ancient Earth, ancient skies: the age of Earth and its cosmic surroundings. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2331-1